The first 100 shots

[Vik65]

Hello All,
When I was a teen I read all about Daniel Boone, Simon Kenton and anything that could be found about pioneer life. Had thought I should get a muzzleloader kit back then and remember the ads for around 350.00, a lot of money back then. Fast forward 44 years and I bought myself a nice Christmas present, Pedersoli PA rifle .45 flintlock. YouTube and this forum have been very helpful.
The first hundred shots went pretty good once I figured out it’s a good idea to swab the bore every 3 shots, keep the flint clean and sharp and keep the level of primer in the pan level and give it a bump. Shooting .440 mini balls, lubed patches .010, 65 grains fffg main charge and primer. Was getting good consistency at 50 yards hitting within a 6 inch circle.
Went shooting today and the only difference was I used patches I made from walmart pillow ticking using mink oil for lube but the accuracy and consistency were no more. What happened? Everything else is the same, just the patches. The patches I was using in the first 100 shots were round and they came already lubed, the ones I used today were square and not much larger than the round ones. Now I noticed that the round patches .010 were going down the bore pretty easily like thumb, forefinger and middle finger easy, the pillow ticking offered more resistance but it wasn’t too difficult to ran them home.
Could my home made patches be too big? They were bigger than the round ones but not by much.
Any input would be appreciated.

 

[sleepingbulldog]

I would switch back to the old lube and patches and see if your accuracy returns. If not, something else is wrong. Change one thing at a time when troubleshooting.

 

[Ballshooter]

Try cutting them at the muzzle. Instead of cutting squares cut a strip of the pillow ticking and use the short starter then cut it off right at the muzzle. Round or square should not make any difference so long as it's not to big your square looks a tad big. Patch thickness plays a big part. Maybe try some Muslin fabric patch and a 1/8 felt or shot card over the powder. But agree with sleepingbulldog change one thing at a time.

 

[Dave Marsh]

I'd listen to sleepingbull dog.

 

[EC121]

Did you wash and dry the pillow tick?

 

[TDM]

Normally I like a tight patch, but that does not always work. I agree with @sleepingbulldog, go back to your old combination and see if the accuracy returns.

 

[Vik65]

Did you wash and dry the pillow tick?

No

 

[TDM]

No

That can make a difference.

 

[Indy Durtdigger]

When you all wash your pillow ticking is there anything special you do or anything to avoid?

 

[EC121]

Washing(any soap or even plain water) removes the sizing and drying tightens the weave. It will come fray some and might do better in a pillowcase or something to to catch the strings.

 

[hanshi]

I like rather tight loads in a rifle and load a ball of .440" or .445" patched with heavy canvas, occasionally denim, and use pre-cut patches from material I bought. I used to get very good accuracy way back when I used pillow ticking. I found mattress ticking to be a bit thicker. I washed the material and cut square patches. The canvas is about .023" to .024" compressed with pillow ticking around .015" and mattress ticking going some .017" - .018". So tight loads may not work for your rifle but nothing lost for trying.

 

[fishmusic]

You might invest in Dutch Schoultz's "Black Powder Rifle Accuracy". I believe you can google this and, even though Dutch has passed on I think he passed the publication on to a family member. I don't necessarily hold with his dry patch lubrication but it is an excellent treatise on how to work up an accurate load for your rifle. Be sure to invest in an inexpensive micrometer.

 

[TDM]

Dutch’s daughter is/was selling copies on ebay. Well worth the purchase.

 

[Larry (Omaha)]

Hello All,
When I was a teen I read all about Daniel Boone, Simon Kenton and anything that could be found about pioneer life. Had thought I should get a muzzleloader kit back then and remember the ads for around 350.00, a lot of money back then. Fast forward 44 years and I bought myself a nice Christmas present, Pedersoli PA rifle .45 flintlock. YouTube and this forum have been very helpful.
The first hundred shots went pretty good once I figured out it’s a good idea to swab the bore every 3 shots, keep the flint clean and sharp and keep the level of primer in the pan level and give it a bump. Shooting .440 mini balls, lubed patches .010, 65 grains fffg main charge and primer. Was getting good consistency at 50 yards hitting within a 6 inch circle.
Went shooting today and the only difference was I used patches I made from walmart pillow ticking using mink oil for lube but the accuracy and consistency were no more. What happened? Everything else is the same, just the patches. The patches I was using in the first 100 shots were round and they came already lubed, the ones I used today were square and not much larger than the round ones. Now I noticed that the round patches .010 were going down the bore pretty easily like thumb, forefinger and middle finger easy, the pillow ticking offered more resistance but it wasn’t too difficult to ran them home.
Could my home made patches be too big? They were bigger than the round ones but not by much.
Any input would be appreciated.

If you are shooting mini balls then you do not use a patch. Since you show a round ball, I assume that is what you are shooting. Like others have said, go back to what worked for you, for starters. As a general rule, but not always, a thicker patch will give a better group. Good luck!
Larry

 

[Daytime Smoker]

You might invest in Dutch Schoultz's "Black Powder Rifle Accuracy". I believe you can google this and, even though Dutch has passed on I think he passed the publication on to a family member. I don't necessarily hold with his dry patch lubrication but it is an excellent treatise on how to work up an accurate load for your rifle. Be sure to invest in an inexpensive micrometer.

I found a link for the publication.

https://blackpowderrifleaccuracy.com/

 

[Kevin]

Pedersoli PA rifles have shallow rifling. Work best with the .010 patches and .440 balls. Try .433 balls with the pillow ticking patches.

 

[oldwood]

Get a micrometer. The only way to insure consistency of patch thickness is to mic. your patches. Check your rifling twist , too. A standard twist of 1 turn in about 60 inches , does well with about 62 gr. FFFG. , .440 r/b. If your rifling is shallow groove rifling , a thinner , tighter patch might be good.
Another wrinkle , to consider , If the bore on your rifle is 1 turn in 48 " , a little less FFFG , may be more consistent. I never used that twist , so I can't tell you much about it. I used the 1 turn in 60" barrel , for shooting steel target competition , but had to go back to my .50 cal. rifle , as the .45 round ball wouldn't knock the steel cub bear over , at 200 yds.. luck to ya..........oldwood

 

[RockRash]

Dutch’s daughter is/was selling copies on ebay. Well worth the purchase.

Yep my copy arrived yesterday. Lots of good information well worth the 30 some dollars it costs.

 

[stewart.leach]

When faced with the need to try a new material for patching I always buy one-quarter of a yard, prepare it, then mike with the mike screwed down quite firmly. I write notes on the strip with a Sharpie. Only test firing will tell the story if it is a good choice or not.

Fabrics that have worked well for me in various rifles include Bottomweights twill and #11 pocket drill (a light canvas) from JoAnn, and pillow ticking from WallyMart.

Fabric is prepared for use by washing and drying on the hottest settings. This is a fulling process- tightens the weave and removes the sizing. Fabric is cut in strips for cut at the muzzle use.

Over the years I have settled on two lubricants, grease and Moose Milk. At first, greases were mixed at home, but now I buy the mink-based grease from Track. Moose Milk is 2 oz water soluble machining oil, 2 oz Murphy"s Oil Soap, and water to make a quart. Grease is for hunting or just rambling with a rifle, MM is used as a match lube and bore cleaner.

 

[Vik65]

thanks for the info, have got a few different samples acquired with various lube. I’ll have to prep some with murphys.